


Twenty Two Years and Counting

by ultraviolethaz



Series: Flufftober 2019 [8]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Falling In Love, Flufftober, Idiots in Love, Lawyer!Alec, M/M, lawyer!magnus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-27 19:55:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20954027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultraviolethaz/pseuds/ultraviolethaz
Summary: That blue bottle ring that would mean everything





	Twenty Two Years and Counting

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> This one I’m not sure about, but let me know what you think <3
> 
> Enjoy!

**22 years ago**

July, the summer break had just started, and Alec was more than excited to spend his whole summer, lazing around in the backyard with his best friend Magnus. Magnus lived across the street for about 4 months now, and Alec made it his mission to be friends with whoever was moving in. Alec remembers eavesdropping on one conversation between his mother and father about the new family moving in, and how excited he had been. Running up the stairs on all fours, to his room and watching out the window as he saw boxes being pulled out of a van and brought into the house. He also remembers the first time he had seen Magnus, the tiny 7-year-old boy sitting on the edge of the sidewalk playing on a Gameboy.

Now racing across the cul-de-sac to Magnus’ house, Alec knocked on the front door, he knew he could walk in and Magnus’ dad wouldn’t mind, but he had wanted to be polite. As soon as he had said hello to Asmodeous, Alec raced his way through the house to the backyard. Magnus’ backyard was much better than his own, the boy had a treehouse, which always made Alec jealous.

“Magnus!” Alec shouted up the ladder to the top of the tree, and watched as a small head popped out from the house

“Alec you came!” With that Alec started climbing up, he was a little too excited as his foot slipped slightly and he had to stop “You okay?” Magnus’ head making another appearance over the edge, Alec just nodded and continued to the top

Alec had been here many times, this treehouse was their secret place, even Max wasn’t allowed here, and it was somewhere the adults couldn’t get to. Reaching the top Alec had never seen so many blankets and pillows piled inside the small space. Magnus had invited him over the day before, for a secret reason that he wouldn’t tell Alec about. They exchanged an awkward hug, Magnus still being small enough to stand up inside, where Alec had to duck slightly to fit properly.

Magnus sat in the pile of pillows and gestured for Alec to join him, they talked about the last few days that they hadn’t seen each other, and Magnus explained his new game to his friend, Alec talked about his grandma’s dog. They ended up talking for hours and even watched the sunset together before Asmodeous shouted up for them to come inside.

Alec turned to start making his way down the ladder, when Magnus stopped him

“I have something…for you” Confused Alec settled back into the pillows “I heard my dad talking about something called engaging. He said that you marry your best friend. Do you promise you’ll marry me?” Holding out his tiny hands towards Alec, the ring off a bottle of water in between his small palms. Alec took it in his own hands and felt a bit silly because he didn’t know what to do with it “You put it on your finger, Dad explained it” Magnus took the plastic ring back and slid it onto Alec’s index finger “There”

“We’re married now?” Alec asked

“Yes” Magnus giggled

**Present Day**

It was way too early for this shit, the alarm clock reading 5:43am, Alec rolled himself out of bed and walked towards the bathroom down the hall. Opening his bedroom door, he was smacked in the face by the scent of home cooked bacon, ah that’s right, Magnus had stayed over the night before. Last night they had gone to a business meeting, Magnus had dragged Alec into a bar afterwards for celebratory drinks. 5 glasses of whiskey in, Alec knew that his friend would be coming home with him, and that’s where Magnus had ended up sleeping on the couch in Alec’s room.

“Morning” Magnus shouted down the hallway, that’s when Alec noticed that the man had had a shower and was standing over the stove in nothing but boxers and the nightgown, he left at the apartment for times like these. If there was a time when Alec hadn’t been in love with his best friend, then he couldn’t remember it.

“Morning, I’m just going to grab a shower” Alec replied remembering they both had work that day. The pair worked at the same law firm, it had taken Magnus longer to get to where he is right now because he had taken 2 years out to travel the world, Alec hadn’t held his friend back and carried on with his studies, fulfilling his dreams of becoming a lawyer for the biggest company in New York,  _ Lewis & Co. _

An hour later both men were on their way to work, having stopped at Magnus’ place so he could change into a suit. The subway had been crowded, they always made sure to leave earlier to not catch the rush hour commuters but with all the stopping, they were running late. Alec knew Simon wouldn’t care, the man was basically Alec’s brother-in-law, but he still liked to be there before everyone else in the office.

“Would you stop worrying?” Magnus said, poking at Alec’s forehead wrinkles, while the subway had stopped, Alec just flashed one of his lopsided smiles. Even if Alec knew for a second what that smile did for Magnus.

At lunch the pair had met up with Isabelle and Clary, somehow they get onto the topic of their childhoods, the Lightwoods reminisce about the days where they lived across the street from Magnus and how Alec had always been over there, more than he was in his own home. They had all met Clary when Isabelle had started college and they were in the same science class before she dropped out and changed majors.

“Didn’t you two have that pact thing about marrying your best friend?” Isabelle asks

“Oh yeah, I gave you that bottle ring in the treehouse” Magnus replies looking to his left, to where Alec is sat in the booth, who is turning a light shade of pink. “It wasn’t really a pact though, more like I was a tiny seven-year-old, who asked his Dad about marriage” Pointing his finger across at Isabelle to correct her. What Magnus doesn’t know is Alec still has that bottle ring.

When Alec had left that night, twenty-two years ago, he had run into his room and pulled the small box that his grandma had given him one Christmas, out from under his bed. Opening it up and seeing all the memories he had put in there over the years, he pulled the ring off his finger and placed it inside one of the small green envelopes. He didn’t want to lose it, it was special. Alec had never thrown it out not even when he moved out and went through his boxes, he had looked at it and remembered the night when he was seven and his best friend asked him to marry him. He didn’t want to forget that.

“Hey, you okay?” Magnus asked later when the pair sat at Alec’s dining room table, working through a case. Alec didn’t answer. “Alec?”

“Yeah?” Head snapping up to look at Magnus

“I asked if you were okay”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine”

“You sure?” Alec could see the concern written across his friend’s face “You can tell me anything you know that, right?”

“Yeah, hold on I’ll be back” Alec bolted up from his seat and walked through the apartment to the storage cupboard in the hallway “You remember what we were talking about earlier? The pact thing?” Magnus nodded as Alec placed the purple striped shoe box down on top of the paperwork “Well um I have something to tell you” A mixture of shock and confusion was written on the other’s face as Alec rifled through the box of things.

“Ah here it is!”

“Here’s what?” Magnus eyed up the envelope Alec had in his hand and watched as he pulled out the blue bottle ring, that he gave him. “Alec? Why do you still have it?”

“Well, this isn’t exactly how I planned to tell you” Stopping, was this really how he was going to do it? In his living room, in his apartment. Yes yes it was because if he didn’t tell Magnus now he was never going to do it. “But I love you”

“I love you too”

“No, I’m  _ in  _ love with you”

“Oh” they locked eyes for a second before Alec started to panic and shoved the bottle ring back into the envelope, putting it back in the box and closing the box lid quickly. “No hold on, it wasn’t a bad oh” Putting his hand on the other’s forearm “I love you too”

“You do?” Shocked, confused as to why Magnus hadn’t said anything before. Maybe the same reasons he hadn’t either.

“Yeah, I have for ages, maybe even when I gave you that. I didn’t realise you kept it though” Pointing at the box and smiling slightly “So what do you say, we actually get married?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Maybe but why not” Tilting his head slightly, crazy ideas was Magnus’ forte, not Alec’s at all but he went with it. He loved Magnus more than he could have ever imagined, why wait?- maybe there were a lot of reasons why they should wait but they could work that out later.

That evening they called all their friends, grabbed the last flight to Las Vegas and said everything they’ve ever wanted to say to each other.  _ Married. _

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Twitter @cobaltbane


End file.
